Tiamat
Tiamat (pronounced: /ˈtiɑːmɑːt/ TEE-a-mat or: /ˈtiɑːmɑːt/ TEE-a-maht), known as the Dragon Queen, is the lawful evil dragon god of wealth, greed, and vengeance. She is the queen of evil dragons and, for a time, a reluctant servant of the greater god Bane, but currently serves Asmodeus. Tiamat is a member of the Khilarian pantheon and the Draconic pantheon. Tiamat is also the eternal rival of her brother Bahamut, ruler of the good metallic dragons. Description Tiamat was a unique chromatic dragon, who had one head for each primary color of the most common species of chromatics (black, blue, green, red, white). Each head was able to operate entirely independently of each other and had the powers of a member of the respective race of dragonkind. Her body also had traits in common with a wyvern, including a long tail tipped with a poisonous stinger. She also had three main avatars. The Dark Lady was a mulan female with long dark hair and completely black eyes. She always wore dark robes and frequently had a seductive smile on her face. The Chromatic Dragon was a dragon with stubby legs and five heads that could be any combination of head belonging to a chromatic dragon, the skin of each merged into three stripes -- blue-green, gray and purple before they merged again into brown skin that covered her tail. The Undying Queen was a dracolich version of The Chromatic Dragon. Tiamat had three manifestations in Avernus as well, one of which never left the gate to Dis. Her manifestation as Azharul was her other 'public' face used for when foes challenged her to combat, meanwhile her original body is rumored to remain secluded within her lair. Personality Tiamat is arrogant, greedy, hateful, spiteful and vain. She never forgives any kind of slight and is only focused on obtaining more power and wealth. She disdains mortals, regarding them as mere disposable tools in her schemes. When needed, she is charming and fey, but her self-serving and reptilian personality betrayed her sooner or later. Tiamat enjoys the company of male dragons, and had many great wyrm consorts of the chromatic varieties over the times. She has insatiable greed for treasures but prefers that her followers bring it to her in the form of gifts instead of searching for riches on her own. Activities Tiamat wants to take control of the Realms, and even as she was thwarted again and again by her enemies, she hasn't given up. She doesn't like to leave her lair, however, and usually acts to advance her agenda by using members of her Church or her agents in the Cult of the Dragon. Tiamat keeps an active watch over evil dragonkind and always stirs them to further actions of avarice, pride, and wickedness. Currently, her primary goal is to break free from the Nine Hells. History Birth of Tiamat Tiamat came into existence alongside Bahamut when Asgorath fell in the Primordial War. Her origins are highly conflicting, however, as there were many accounts about how she came into being. In the more commonly accepted traditions, she is the daughter of Asgorath and is the sister of Bahamut. Whatever the truth, her cult grew rapidly in the communities of chromatic dragons, especially among blue, green, and red dragons. Cosmic Fissure/Arcanus Burst (1A 2538) Shortly after the birth of Tiamat, her essence was completely obliterated due to the Arcanus Burst. However, Tiamat returned during the Re-Emergence outside of the Prime Material Plane. Unable to get back in, she lived within her personal temple, Tiamat's Temple, which drifted within the chaotic realm of the Abyss. Draconic Civil War (2A 247 - 2A 1193) After the Re-Emergence, dragons had finally established themselves as a race and the various religious factions of dragons began to battle one another over their different ideologies. Over time, religious fervor waned and draconic philosophers came to the conclusion that gods who allowed such behavior were not worthy of their worship. This started the draconic apathy toward their gods. However, the hatred that had developed between Tiamat, Bahamut and their followers were so intense that they refused to stop fighting. Their conflict is known as the Draconic Civil War. During the first years of the war, Tiamat bred horrific and aberrant draconic creatures known as the Spawn of Tiamat, in an attempt to wipe out the followers of Bahamut. The war waxed and waned in intensity, with the most notable fighting occurring between 2A 247 to 2A 337 and a resurgence from 2A 924 to 2A 1193. During this time, many mortals learned of both Tiamat and Bahamut as a result of dragons often using them for pawns and the overall destruction of the war. During the second resurgence of the civil war, both Bahamut and Tiamat gained many humanoid worshipers, which lead to the Draconic Civil War entering a new period of intensity. The two siblings fought each other personally, with neither being able to gain the upper hand. Tiamat also worked against the other Khilarian gods, which resulted in the church of Torm naming her the "Nemesis of the Gods" and blaming her for many problems Orsandia had. Loss of Divinity (2A 329 - 2A 957) In a large war named the Orcgate Wars, Tiamat saw an opportunity to slay Gruumsh while he was battling Corellon over a land grab upon Khilaria. However, Bane, noticing Tiamat's plan, intercepted her and in the ensuing battle, Bane had killed Tiamat. Due to this fight, Bane was able to steal Tiamat's divine power causing Tiamat to be reduced to the status of an Archfiend. She was then banished to the Nine Hells, under Asmodeus' rule. As an Archfiend, she was given rulership of Avernus by Asmodeus. Her job was to prevent outcast devils on that layer of the Nine Hells from becoming a threat but she performed so poorly that Asmodeus demoted her. Knowing her failure was not deliberate (by reading her thoughts), Asmodeus deigned to allow Tiamat to remain in Avernus unpunished and even gave her a chance to regain her position if she impressed him in her new role as the guardian of the main gate to Dis. Tyranny of Dragons (2A 957 - 2A 1193) During the Tyranny of Dragons, followers and worshippers of Tiamat increased, which caused her to regain her deity status. After a few hundred years of tyrannical rule, the great wizard Caesterion destroyed the home of one of Tiamat's offspring, Xalbisdeg, by sending a meteor down on to the Burning Mountain. Similarly, many dragons were destroyed by King Gareth Dragonclaw who followed Bahamut during these dark times. Having done so, rose to become the new king of the now Caesterion Kingdom where he brought the worship of Bahamut back to its people, elevating Bahamut to the status of a greater deity. The Guise of Entropy (2A 1227 - 2A 1283) With such a hard defeat, Tiamat transformed the body of the dead primordial, Entropy, into a beacon where she may siphon energy from the Prime Material Plane. While in this guise, she was able to deceive many humanoids to begin worshipping Entropy as the bringer of destruction for the gods. Entropy promised to bring its humanoid worshippers into the new age of a godless time, granting boons to only its most devout worshippers. This expanded her base of humanoid worshipers, which allowed her to create her divine realm in the mountains of Avernus. Hellish Rebuke (2A 1295 - 2A 1336) At 2A 1360, Tiamat saw an opportunity to lead an attack on Banehold. Doing so lead to Tiamat taking much of Bane's divine energy. Naturally, she used that energy to increase her own divine power, ascending to an Intermediate deity. Delighted, Asmodeus offered her the rulership of Avernus once more. However, to avoid disappointing Asmodeus again and to prevent a conflict with Bel, Tiamat refused, instead offering to be Asmodeus' champion and devouring all who opposed him (and offering covert aid to Zariel to prevent Bel from becoming too powerful). Rise of Tiamat (2A 1336 - 2A 1357) Yet agreements in the Nine Hells are binding, and Tiamat was subsequently placed under the direct compulsion of Bel. Her brief attempt at resistance allowed her to see into Bel's mind and found the directions Asmodeus had given him to imprison her in her divine realm to prevent her from becoming ambitious. Betrayed and angry, Tiamat instructed her followers within the Cult of the Dragon to assemble the Mask of the Dragon Queen that would allow her to finally escape Avernus and enter Khilaria while subverting the Divine Passage. Relationships Tiamat is the antithesis of her brother Bahamut, as both of them represented opposing values, and this enmity was reflected in the attitude of each deity's worshipers as well. Having been living on Avernus, Tiamat was loosely allied with Bel and lent him many Abishai to fight in the Blood War. She developed an enmity with Asmodeus and the archdevil Bel after they betrayed her, trapping her within her lair upon Avernus. She maintained a male consort from each of the chromatic dragon races. She had children with each of them and they served her as mortal agents. Worshipers Tiamat has made inroads into the Cult of the Dragon and has claimed some members as her worshipers. Also, the Daenean family of Lexongale unwittingly served Tiamat while they were worshiping the primordial Entropy. Tiamat transformed Entropy into a conduit for her power and gained the Daeneans as pawns. Many evil dragons have worshiped Tiamat since their species first appeared on Khilaria, and kobolds believed she was their creator, and although they didn't worship her as a god, they revered her as their creator. Clergy Tiamat accepted only evil clerics. They, like Tiamat herself, sought to place the world under the domination of evil dragons. Church of Tiamat The church of Tiamat was regimented by a strict hierarchy of ranks and titles. Her clerics were occupied by the twin tasks of acquiring an ever-increasing hoard of wealth for the faith and sabotaging the faiths of other deities. As a result, they occupied most of their time with an unending series of thefts, assassinations, acts of vandalism, and arson. Orders The Knights of the Five-Thorned Rose were her elite five ranking crusaders, tasked with the destruction of the followers of Bahamut, especially metallic dragons. In recent years, the Cult of the Dragon has changed its focus from raising dracoliches and worshipping chromatic dragons to a wide-scale attempt to summon Tiamat into the Prime Material Plane. Leading up to their ritual, the Cult of the Dragon raided many villages and stole a hefty amount of gold for her. Temples Though most evil dragons honor Tiamat, few keep shrines dedicated to her in their lairs because they don't want her gazing at their treasure hoards. Instead, they dedicate vast, gloomy caverns to their deity and keep them stocked with treasure and sacrifices. Tiamat has considerably more temples among her non-dragon followers. The two most prominent sites of her faith are the Well of Dragons within the Desolate Mountain Range, and the Altar of the Scales within the ruins of Castle Perilous. Dogma To Tiamat, deities of all creeds and from every pantheon are inherently tyrannical and are therefore her rivals. She considered herself the only being powerful enough to defy these gods and overthrow their despotic rule. Her followers worked tirelessly toward her agenda of world domination. When Tiamat assumes her throne as the only goddess of the Realms, her draconic children would serve her as dukes, or so her followers believe. Rites Clerics of Tiamat pray for their spells at dusk, in hopes she will return the sun the following morning, as part of a ritual known as Tithing. The Tithing requires a small tithe, typically several gold coins or a small gem, which are hidden in the cleric's cupped hands while praying, then buried. Tiamat's clergy also performs various other daily ceremonies in homage to their mistress. The Rite of Respect is a complicated ritual of abasement and appeasement which is performed while approaching any chromatic dragon. This ceremony doesn't provide any special protection from the dragon's fury, but failure to perform it is a death sentence. A sect of her followers known as the Dark Scaly Ones proclaimed the day of the first full moon after Midsummer a holy day dedicated to her. Known as the Festival of Vengeance, this day marked the defeat of Gilgeam at Tiamat's hands. This day is celebrated by general anarchy, rioting, and widespread mayhem incited by the clergy and the faithful. During that day, clerics of other gods try to contain the looting and destruction, and prominent officials tend to be aware of the multiple assassination attempts executed by Tiamat's worshipers.